Ventura County 1st County in SoCal to Get Permission to Move into Expanded Phase 2, Reopen Restaurants for Dine-In

Ventura County is the first SoCal county to receive approval from the state to move forward into accelerated phase 2 with attestation this week.

With approval from the California Department of Public Health, Ventura County restaurants can now offer dine-in options and all retail businesses with entrances facing outside, can have customers come inside the stores, according to the Ventura County Office of Emergency Services website.

That is part of the expanded phase 2 the California Department of Public Health has mandated for counties across the state. As of May 20, Ventura County has had 29 deaths, and 858 total COVID-19 cases, according to Ventura County Emergency page.

Kelly Long, Ventura County Supervisor & Chair of the Board of Supervisors, joined KNX In-Depth Thursday afternoon to discuss the reopening of the Ventura County economy and what's next.

She advised the local Ventura County residents to call in the local businesses and restaurants before going in to make sure they are adhering to the rules and regulations.

She said some of the restaurants are still getting up and running. She said more than 3,200 businesses have registered to reopen. In Ventura County it is an option to wear a face-covering for residents, she said adding if you have a cough, you should wear a mask.

In restaurants, physical distancing is required, and staff and servers will be required to wear masks, according to Long. She said pick-up and delivery are still options from restaurants.

"We are wanting to make sure our economy is still driving forward even though people need to be safely distancing and following all the measures of the Stay at Home," Long said.

Long said "we need to be able to open up our businesses and our restaurants to get our people employed so that we can also take care of the public health of our community. It's a win-win. If you take care of the public health, you can then get your economy driving. If you get your economy driving, you can take care of your public health."

Long said she wants to make sure people take steps they are comfortable with.

"We are not mandating people to get out, we are providing an option so that they can go out and still exercise, our beaches are there for exercise, but the parking is still closed. We are following orders in which we want to keep everyone safe and out of the hospitals but at the same time get our lives back to what the new normal, that's what everyone is saying," she said.